Grant County OR CHL Application Experience


LVLouisCyphre

Obama is a mack daddy!
I went an applied for my non-resident Oregon concealed handgun license. Once it arrives I'll be seeing checking the calendar for a trip to Thunder Ranch. Clint is getting up there and I want to get instruction from him while he's still teaching. I missed the opportunity to train with the late Col. Jeff Cooper at Gunsite before he retired and subsequently passed on.

Travel Notes
  • The nearest major airport to Canyon City OR is Boise ID (BOI). Fortunately for me there is non-stop service from LAS to BOI.
  • The rental car facility is tiny compared to other US airports I've been to. Reserve your vehicle early or expect to pay over $60 a day for a compact car. Simple supply and demand. I would reserve your rental vehicle two to four weeks in advance. The best rate you can hope to find is about $20 / day.
  • Shortest route from I-84 to Canyon City is via US-26 through Ontario OR. Googlemaps will not give you the most direct route it will route you through Baker City. It's roughly a three and a half hour drive in clear weather each way as the speed limit once you go off I-84 is 55.
  • Plan your trip when the weather is likely to be clear. The Snake River Valley is filled with windy roads and S curves. I drive very conservatively and don't touch my phone unless I know the road and area very well.
  • While OR is an anomalous open carry State, I would not carry openly since you are applying for a may issue non-resident license. All it takes is one weapon violation and you can kiss your efforts good bye along with probably any other States you may have. Not to mention your firearms would likely be impounded. I would keep your weapons in your vehicle in accordance to 18 USC 926A in condition three with a combination lock with a charged magazine, speed loader or strip nearby.
  • Link Removed. You are legal to CCW in Idaho on any US issued endorsement, license or permit.
  • I stayed two nights in Boise in case of Murphy's law. I recommend you do not suddenly hop in your rental vehicle and drive to Canyon City OR. Chances are you will be tired after your flight. If you're like me and hate flying you're better of decompressing for the evening anyway and want bonding time with a comfy bed.
  • TSA at BOI is very courteous and friendly. Probably because it's a gun friendly State. They check your bag with your firearms with you watching in the oversized baggage area. It is legal for you to CCW in the non-secure area of Idaho airports. A word of warning, they do not have family restrooms so use caution if you arm up after arriving and sanitize yourself to go through screening.
Application Notes
  • Link Removed states that a county sheriff may issue to a resident of a State physically bordering Oregon. You must reside in CA, ID, NV or WA to be considered for a non-resident OR CHL by law. Fortunately Grant County OR Sheriff Palmer has a shall issue policy for non-residents. I do not know if his successor will follow in his footsteps if he doesn't get re-elected. Many Oregon Sheriffs are no issue for non-residents especially in the larger metropolitan areas.
  • Grant County Sheriff Civil Division accepts applications 0800 - 1600 M-F excluding holidays. While their office closes at 17:00 you must be in the door submitting your application before 1600. You will be buzzed in. Part of the sheriff's office is the county jail and the other part civil.
  • You will be fingerprinted and photographed by Sally in the Civil Division office. I was the lucky person who popped the cherry of their electronic fingerprint scanner they just purchased where your prints are transmitted electronically to Oregon State Police.
  • You can get a PDF version of the application here from the Oregon Firearm Federation site. I generated my application with Adobe Acrobat with the typewriter tool as I have an honorary MD due to my penmanship.
  • Provide copies of your training documentation. While it is not required, I also copied both sides of all of the States I currently possess; CT, FL, ME, NH, NV and UT. I also submitted copies of my instructor credentials.
  • Don't forget the self-addressed stamped envelope.
  • Grant County Sheriffs Office presently accepts personal checks for the application fee. I had to write two checks, one for $50 and another for the $15 fingerprinting fee.
Timeline
  • 6/28/2010 - Applied in person
  • 6/30/2010 - Personal check to GCSO for the $50 application fee cleared
  • 7/12/2010 - Personal check OSP for the $15 fingerprinting fee cleared
  • 7/12/2010 - SASE post marked
  • 7/15/2010 - Received OR CHL. Note the issuance date is the date you applied, not the date they approve it as with most States
 

+1...if Grant County was an EBay seller, A++++++++++

I took the trek down there in April (7 hour drive) with my wife and we applied....had the non-resident permit in 11 days...all staff very friendly and helpful, and the Canyon City/John Day area made for a cool place to spend the rest of the afternoon.

Highly recommend to any others who live in states adjacent to Oregon who want to get their Oregon permit :pleasantry:
 
Jibster, thanks for the comment. Not sure if I will be able to get down there this summer, but it is in my plans at some point. Hope all is well.
 
# 10/26/2010 - Applied
# 11/01/2010 - Personal check to GCSO for the $50 application fee cleared
# 11/03/2010 - Personal check OSP for the $15 fingerprinting fee cleared
# 11/??/2010 - SASE post marked (Was Not Stamped By PO unless they using Invisible Ink)
# 11/04/2010 -OR CHL Issued.
# 11/10/2010 - Received OR CHL In The Mail Box.

Contract_Pilot, Vancouver WA

Also want to thank

Oregon Firearms Federation
 
New application times

Just called and spoke with Sally. She indicated they only accept applications on Wednesdays from 8-3 now. FYI
 
My wife and I applied at Grant County Wednesday morning (1/2/13). As noted above, bring an SASE to mail your CHL. Also, you now only need to write one check, in my case saving three other checks, since it was for both of us. We'll see if it still only takes a couple of weeks.
 
My wife and I applied at Grant County Wednesday morning (1/2/13). As noted above, bring an SASE to mail your CHL. Also, you now only need to write one check, in my case saving three other checks, since it was for both of us. We'll see if it still only takes a couple of weeks.

If your background is clean and OSP is not to busy (I think they are due to the firearm sales rush) then 10-14 days is what it is averaging.
 
We called Sally to let her know we wanted to make our application for a CHL on Friday, February 15. They don't take a particular time but I assume they want to limit the number of applications to a reasonable number. We traveled from Western Washington to Grant County on February 19, and stayed over night at Dreamer's Lodge in John Day ($50 night senior rate). Dinner was just across the parking lot at Outpost Trading Co - great meal for less than $10 each. We arrived at the Sheriff's office about 9:30 Wednesday morning. We were the first ones there but my recommendation would be to arrive closer to 8:00 because within minutes of our arrival, 7 more folks came in. Processing takes about 30 minutes, maybe less if their fingerprint scanner is behaving. Everyone was very polite and extremely professional. We had lunch at RJ's Steaks and Spirits in Fossil - also highly recommended.

Today (February 27) when the mail came, we each had our brand new CHL in hand! Whoo Hoo! Great experience and well worth the drive. :biggrin:
 

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